1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a communication systems along various computer networks and, more specifically, to wide area networks incorporating text communication methods.
2. Relevant Technology
The xe2x80x9cplain old telephone systemxe2x80x9d (POTS) or xe2x80x9cpublic switched telephone networkxe2x80x9d (PSTN) has been in development since the late 1800""s. In general, the term PSTN refers to any medium of communication in which at least part of the link is analog, and not digital, in nature. The PSTN was first developed in the late 1800""s to allow for person to person communications by voice over long distances. The invention of computers made it useful to exchange digital data over the PSTN. In the 1950""s, xe2x80x9cmodemsxe2x80x9d were developed for that purpose. A modem accepts digital data and modulates it into a form suitable for transmission over the PSTN such that a corresponding receiving modem may demodulate the signal back into the original digital data.
Computer networks have become very popular in allowing computers to communicate and transmit data across local area networks (LAN) and wide area networks (WAN). The Internet itself could be considered to be a WAN. A LAN or WAN link is digital in nature and conforms to a known protocol such as NETBIOS, TCP/IP, SPX/IPX, etc. over a communication media such as Ethernet, Token Ring, or higher speed media. Several modem protocols of the format xe2x80x9cV dotxe2x80x9d protocol include the V.32, V.34, and V.70 protocol. All such xe2x80x9cV dotxe2x80x9d protocols are promulgated by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the governing body for modem standards based in Geneva Switzerland. The earlier xe2x80x9cBellxe2x80x9d standards, such as Bell 103, Bell 212, etc., are similar but earlier modem standards adopted in the United States prior to the U.S.""s joining of the ITU. The full specifications of any ITU standard may be obtained from the ITU.
The well known xe2x80x9c2500xe2x80x9d series analog phones connect directly to the PSTN but not directly to a LAN or WAN. In the PSTN, often the link from a business or residence to the xe2x80x9cCOxe2x80x9d (central office) is analog, although much of the rest of the PSTN may be digital. Modems such as V.32, V.34, etc. are designed to operate on an analog or mixed analog/digital link. The term PSTN sometimes includes PBX or key phone systems or links as found in many organizations. Examples of such PBX or key systems include ATandT""s xe2x80x9cMerlinxe2x80x9d -or xe2x80x9cPartner Plusxe2x80x9d systems, Nortel""s SL1, SL100, or Northstar systems, and so on. PBX or key systems will often connect directly to analog lines from the PSTN, although digital connections, such as T1 lines, are common. A voice caller on a PBX or key system is able to call and converse with an analog 2500 series phone whereas such a phone will not connect directly to a LAN or WAN network.
Modems provide a means for the deaf or speech impaired to communicate over the telephone system, since typed characters can be sent over the PSTN via modem and read by another modem user. However, standard modems have evolved with poor provision for communications by the deaf or speech impaired and are largely unsuitable for this purpose. Standard modems were developed primarily for computer to computer communications. For example, most standard modems have a xe2x80x9ccarrierxe2x80x9d which is a constant audible signal. If this signal is lost because the call is placed on hold, a standard modem will generally hang up and cannot reestablish the connection with a different modem. Modems are very inflexible in their protocol requirements and will not operate properly or will abort the call if the protocol settings are wrong.
Automated telephone systems are widely used in telephonic communications to provide automated information and various services to hearing callers. The automated telephone systems are sometimes referred to as xe2x80x9cIVR,xe2x80x9d for xe2x80x9cInteractive Voice Responsexe2x80x9d systems, or xe2x80x9cVRUxe2x80x9d for xe2x80x9cVoice Response Unitxe2x80x9d, and are well known in the telephone industry. By way of example, when a hearing caller calls the phone number of an entity, such as a business or government organization, the caller may receive information services, transfer services to desired entities, messaging services, fax-on-demand services, and other services through the use of an automated telephone system.
With the automated telephone service, the hearing caller may be instructed by voice prompts to select and enter different command options. For example, the caller may be prompted to press 1 for sales, 2 for office hours, or to enter the extension of a party that the caller wishes to contact, and so on. Another service provided by an automated telephone system is to provide recordings of job openings. The hearing caller may be able to activate a voice description of available job openings by pressing the keys on their phone. Pressing a key on a touch tone phone creates DTMF tones which are detected by the automated telephone system.
A long standing challenge is to make systems accessible to the text devices, such as the Baudot TTY devices, used by the deaf. Since a conventional voice telephone is not usable by a deaf person, the deaf commonly use a device called a TTY or TDD device. The TTY device has a keyboard and display and is used in place of a voice telephone by deaf persons. Typically the display on a TTY displays one or two lines of text, and these displays typically do not accommodate graphics.
Manufacturers of automated telephone systems have been under pressure for many years to make their systems accessible to the deaf using TTY technology. One solution used in the industry is to treat TTY as a foreign language. That is, TTY tones are recorded and played back to the TTY caller. The deaf caller is then expected to create DTMF tones to navigate the menus displayed on the TTY screen. A problem with this approach is that many TTY devices cannot create DTMF tones after the call is dialed.
Internet technology and associated web sites would appear to provide some answers to the problems faced by the deaf. However, two points should be made here regarding this application. First, many of the deaf do not have computers or Internet access, so information or services offered on a web site are not accessible to such persons. Secondly, many services offered to hearing callers through automated telephone systems are not offered on an organization""s web site. For example, an automated telephone system often supports transfer and messaging services to allow a hearing caller to call a person or department within the organization or leave a message for a person or department. Frequently an organization""s web site is not designed to provide such a service. A web site may provide a general e-mail address for contact information, and even this is not available to a deaf person without Internet access. Other services may also be placed on the automated telephone system but not the web site, such as a job posting service.
It would seem equitable that if services are offered hearing callers using a conventional phone, then equivalent services should be offered a deaf person using a TTY device or other text device. In fact, federal law since the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, has contained language urging this type of equivalency. In large part these laws have not been heeded or enforced due to the difficulty, expense, and complexity of the available solutions.
A possible approach to providing information and other services to TTY callers would be to construct a parallel and equivalent system accessible to TTY callers. Information, such as job listings, made available in certain formats must be made available to TTY callers by constructing a parallel and complete system just for TTY callers. An objection to this method is that often the number of TTY callers is quite low. Maintaining a separate and parallel information system just for TTY callers is expensive and hard to justify for the low volume of TTY calls received.
Federal law does not require that web sites on the Internet provide access to TTY users. It is reasonable to equate a voice telephone used by a hearing person with a TTY device used by a deaf person. Therefore, services offered to a voice telephone caller should also be available to a TTY caller. However, web site content is not available to a voice telephone user so it is not reasonable or expected for such content to be available to a TTY caller. Indeed there are no laws or regulations to create this type of access for the deaf.
It would therefore be an advancement in the art to provide a system accessible by the deaf and providing equivalent information and services as that found in an automated telephone service. It would be a further advancement in the art to provide such a system that is accessible across a PSTN using conventional text devices such as TTY devices. It would be yet another advancement in the art to provide such a system with wide scale accessability. Such an invention is disclosed and claimed herein.
The present invention relates to a network communication system configured to operate over a network such as a PSTN or the Internet. The system allows a remote user to access a web site hosted by a server in communication with the PSTN. The web site may be configured with text, menu options, communication transfer services, and message storage services as may be found in an automated telephone service. The remote user may access the web site using a conventional text device, such as a TTY device, or a conventional browser.
The system includes a text gateway module in electrical communication with the text device, such as a TTY device. The text gateway module receives text data generated by the text device and directs the text data to a text/web translator. The web/text translator converts the text data into web data suitable for use by a web site and server. The web/text translator transmits the web data to a web gateway module that directs the web data to a specified web site. The web/text translator receives web data generated by the web site from the web gateway module. The web/text translator converts the web data to text data which is readable by the text device. The text data is then transmitted to the text gateway module and then passed to the text device.
The text gateway module, web/text translator, and the web gateway module may be combined as a single module or may be separately identifiable. The modules may further be resident at the server or dispersed at various locations in the communication chain from the text device to the server.
The web/text translator converts text, graphic icons, menu options, and communication links within a web site into equivalent forms of text data. A remote deaf user may read and select different options that previously were available only in an automated telephone service. A remote deaf user may access web sites across a PSTN and use the services of an automated system that were previously unavailable.
These and other features and advantages of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or may be learned by the practice of the invention as set forth hereinafter.